Drake Bell Reveals How His Childhood Ab*se Secret Changed Friendship with Josh Peck: 'Doesn't Want Much...'

Drake Bell says keeping his childhood abuse a secret strained his friendship with Josh Peck during Drake & Josh, as he dealt with trauma while filming the show.

Written by Sakina Kaukawala , Entertainment Journalist

Updated on Mar 25, 2025 | 10:24 AM GMT | 3.2K

Drake Bell and Josh Peck (via Getty Images)

Trigger Warning: This article includes references to sexual abuse.

Drake Bell is sharing how the abuse he suffered as a child star impacted his friendship with his Drake & Josh co-star, Josh Peck. On the March 24 episode of Peck’s Good Guys podcast, Bell and Peck discussed their long relationship and how it was shaped by Bell’s past.

This was their first public conversation since the release of Quiet on Set, a documentary where Bell revealed he was abused by Brian Peck (no relation to Josh), a dialogue coach from The Amanda Show. Bell and Peck first met on The Amanda Show before starring together on Drake & Josh as per PEOPLE.

During the podcast, Peck reflected on their first meeting and mentioned that they initially didn’t get along, but he had thought Bell was cool and wanted him to like him. He added that once Bell realized he was somewhat funny and enjoyed being around people who appreciated humor, they quickly became inseparable.

Bell recalled that their bond strengthened when they started Drake & Josh in 2004. However, he stated that his accusations against Brian Peck created a shift in their relationship.

Bell said the big break between Drake & Josh and The Amanda Show was when he told his mom about what was going on. At the time of filming the Drake & Josh pilot, an investigation into Brian Peck was already underway, though no one on set knew.

Drake Bell said that filming Drake & Josh was difficult because it was shot on the same set as The Amanda Show, where he had been abused. He mentioned that the set had been the only place where he felt comfortable, as he could be around everyone.

However, he recalled that Brian Peck visited the set while they were filming the pilot, which added to his distress. He stated that at the time, he knew Peck was about to be arrested, but no one else on set was aware of it.

Josh Peck admitted he had no idea what Bell was going through and thought Bell had simply distanced himself. “Until you sort of shared with me what was happening, I was just looking at it through the prism of a 14-year-old's brain going like, ‘He doesn’t want much to do with me.’”

Bell worried about how the situation would impact Drake and Josh. “Is this going to hurt our show? When this drops, is Josh going to look at me and be like, ‘Bro, you took our dream away?’” He was so stressed that he began losing his hair.

Brian Peck was convicted in 2004 after pleading no contest to charges involving a minor under 16. He was sentenced to 16 months in prison and was required to register as a sex offender. After his release in 2005, Bell and Josh Peck slowly began rebuilding their friendship.